Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Xanthippe, back in the saddle



That's me in my car, waiting for one of my children to come out of an appointment, looking (as Brittany told me on Instagram) insouciant.

 Insouciant:  free from concern, worry or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant; marked by blithe unconcern (from the French in - not and souciant - trouble, first documented usage 1799)

Hilarious! I particularly love the phrase blithe unconcern.

Lately, I've thought of myself more as a Xanthippe.

Xanthippe: a nagging, ill-tempered woman (after Xanthippe, wife of Socrates, who was portrayed as a nagging, quarrelsome woman, the word derived from xanthos (yellow) + hippos (horse), first documented usage was 1691)

Being back in the saddle, haranguing insurance companies, driving carpools, staying married and parenting all call for the Yellow Horse, no?

Reader, are you insouciant or a Xanthippe?



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18 comments:

  1. 37paddingtonJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    i need a little more Xanthippe today but i'm not insouciant either! i will forever more think of you as Xanthippe with admiration.

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  2. NeilJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:24 PM

    Just saying, that ADT sign in the background is causing me anxiety.

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  3. karioJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:32 PM

    I just love that you can LOOK insouciant while you are LIVING Xanthippe.

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  4. MelJanuary 23, 2013 at 2:52 PM

    Living Xanthippe, dreaming of insouciant. Life will do that to us...

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  5. N2January 23, 2013 at 3:00 PM

    I tend to be more Xanthippe when fighting for the underdog, i.e. when they "get my Irish up", which is the position you, unfortunately, keep finding yourself in with the "Health Care and Insurance Industries". Wishing you strength (It's a great life if you don't weaken, as my Ma used to say.) and at least a few moment of insouciance in every week. x0 N2

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  6. Ms. MoonJanuary 23, 2013 at 3:35 PM

    I believe I am merely weary.

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  7. Radish KingJanuary 23, 2013 at 3:50 PM

    slut
    xo

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  8. Greg PincusJanuary 23, 2013 at 4:32 PM

    I think I'm like a variant of "layogenic" - which is from Tagalog, not English, and roughly means "a person who from far away looks attractive, but from up close is kinda a mess." I'd vary it to mean "looks like everything's okay" rather than "attractive" :-)

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  9. Blue GalJanuary 23, 2013 at 4:46 PM

    I'm sure I appear as one to some people; the other to different people. It's an interesting thought...I always wonder how I appear to others.

    BTW, I like your necklace. What is it?

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  10. BirdieJanuary 23, 2013 at 4:49 PM

    I believe my family would say I am xanthippe. Today I am feeling "dauncy". It is a word from "I Love Lucy" where she describes herself as not really sick but just feeling lousy.

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dauncy

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  11. TaradharmaJanuary 23, 2013 at 5:31 PM

    it changes daily, depending on the demands put upon me.....

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  12. TaradharmaJanuary 23, 2013 at 5:33 PM

    by the way...the word verification makes me more Xanthippe

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  13. ain't for city galsJanuary 23, 2013 at 6:12 PM

    As most people...a little of both..but I do agree with Taradharma on the word verification...I cannot even read them half the time and I have to go get my other glasses etc. etc...so the times I don't leave a comment are the times I have usually just given up...

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  14. Carrie Wilson LinkJanuary 23, 2013 at 6:24 PM

    That's a moment by moment answer!

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  15. Tanya SavkoJanuary 23, 2013 at 8:57 PM

    I love this photo of you! Wishing I could be insouciant, but of course am resigned to being a Xanthippe. Perhaps I can have blithe unconcern in my next life...

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  16. HeatherJanuary 23, 2013 at 9:35 PM

    I think you know the answer. At least you should.

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  17. Steve ReedJanuary 23, 2013 at 10:33 PM

    I don't think you look insouciant in that photo. It's an insouciant pose, but your face is all determination.

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  18. Denise Emanuel ClemenJanuary 23, 2013 at 10:37 PM

    They call me Mellow Yellow.

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